“Oh, let’s give over talking. Here—” and he held out his hand. Maurice took it, and they knew at that moment the greatest triumph an ordinary man can win. They saw now how natural it was that their abandonment to each other at Penge should have led to peril. They knew too little about each other—and too much. Hence fear. Hence cruelty. They held and they held: their gaze at each other was steady, firm, warm as the grip of their hands.
